December 2001 – February 2002

At the beginning of Rocio Arreola’s medical career, 24 years ago, she met an iridologist who
surprised her with his accurate diagnosis of patients she was acquainted with, but whom he did
not know. She became his student. For 18 years she has used various alternative therapies, including
modern Western acupuncture, homeopathy, Reiki, massage, energy healing, nutrition, emotional
therapy and healing meditations. Dr. Arreola now runs a retreat center in Mexico, wears
a maid’s uniform and cooks and cleans like the paid help.

At 16 I got involved with an organization for world peace known as CISV (Children’s International Summer  Villages), where I learnt about altruism and working for the planet’s benefit without personal expectations.  Here I met people interested in the teachings of Jiddu Krishnamurti, an Indian philosopher. I traveled to Switzerland and California on three occasions to hear his teachings directly. I was 18. For the next nine years I looked for teachers and techniques that would purify my whirlpool mind. When I finished medical school and despite being considered among the best students, I did not feel happy or satisfied. My soul was not fulfilled. It was then that a friend gave me a book about Tibetan Buddhism. I immediately felt at home. Two months later I was on a plane to Nepal, a country I had never heard of, with the certainty I was on the right path. I was at Kopan Monastery the next morning…

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